


Protecting Atlantis

by AKnightOfAGoodKing



Category: Aquaman (2018)
Genre: Brothers, Family, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Torture, Imprisonment, Missing in Action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 01:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17255399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKnightOfAGoodKing/pseuds/AKnightOfAGoodKing
Summary: Excerpt:["There are worse fates than death, Atlantean," the man said in a chiding manner, putting the remote back in his pocket. No longer thrashing, Orm sank to the bottom of the tank, his screaming stopped, and he didn't replied, twitching as he curled up into a fetal position. "I'll break you eventually."By then, Mera had seen enough, and with her magic, the water raised her up, eyes glowing brightly.]





	Protecting Atlantis

**Author's Note:**

> **[DO NOT REPOST/REUSE MY WORK(S) WITHOUT MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PERMISSION]**
> 
> _Aquaman_ had been the movie I've been wanting from DC, I loved it! It had a love story I cared about, character development, and not badly placed humor. It's a wholesome movie for the whole family. 
> 
> More exciting news is that **I stan Orm**. He's a complex antagonist with deep connections to the protagonist, driven not by ambition but by love and duty, for Atlanna and Atlantis. Like, I would fight for my king Arthur, but I would _die_ for my (soft) boi Orm.

When they found him, he was malnourished, battered, and weak. He had left the city to visit his father's grave alone, the last of the House Marius left. He promised he'd be back within the week, refusing any escorts and riding out with only his favored steed and his spear. 

But before the week was even up, a messenger arrived, bearing news from the retainers of the Marius lands, and she kept her head down to the king as she replied that Lilia, Orm's steed, had arrived to Marius lands but without the prince. The sea dragon was frantic when he arrived, aderaline rushed from having lost his master, and had just recently calmed down from his wailings. Scouts had been sent to find him, but they had found nothing conclusive.

Upon hearing this, Atlanna, the queen mother, paled in horror, her blood running cold, and at his throne, Arthur was panicking, gripping his hands into fists to resist the urge to go look for Orm himself. Mera quickly took the messenger out to learn more of the details while Vulko comforted the royal mother and son. They could not be sure that he had just left. 

"But he  _promised_ , Vulko," Atlanna argued, unable to believe that. "He promised  _me_. He'd never lie to me."

Vulko gave his queen a sympathetic smile, his concern as genuine if only a bit less compared to a mother's affinity. He'd watched both of her sons grow up and cared for the youngest as well. "I know, my queen," he replied. "We will keep our eyes out for him and alert the seven seas of his disappearance." 

But he saw in the her blue eyes that was not not enough for her. She'd go off on her own to look for her son. She had her family back, she wasn't going to lose them again. Vulko would have to convince her to take some guards with her so that she wouldn't disappear too. 

Arthur didn't say a thing as he listened to his mentor console his mother in vain, but he didn't know what to do. He wanted to go and look for Orm himself too, but he couldn't just leave. He had a throne and a world to protect, his life now greatly split between Atlantis and the surface world with the Justice League. Though he was a powerful man, responsibilities took precedent he had come to learn. He'd only have few opportunities to go looking himself, so he would have to pass on the search effort in order to take care of the people of both of his worlds. 

The king felt nothing but guilt for choosing Atlantis and the surface world over his brother, but he had to remain a good king. Atlantis was changing and the surface world was adapting to the superheroes, and if he left his duties to the city and his allies all of the sudden, his efforts may come to nothing if the fragile balance he'd maintained collapsed.

Vulko would be so proud of him, taking on such a view as a good king, had it not been for the circumstance. 

"Mom, do whatever you need to find him," Arthur finally said, hating himself a bit for doing this so quickly. "Vulko, assist her with all the technicalities, but I want you to stay on the council as always. We can survive doing court without Mom."

Atlanna smiled small, nodding in understanding and quiet pride. She could see her son clenching his jaw and knew he wanted to go to, but he was growing into his position as king. Growing up within these palace columns and was, she understood the weight of duty and knew he was right. 

When Mera came back, she told them everything she could get out from the messenger, and Atlanna headed out, taking seven personal guards with her. She said she'd return with updates and to discuss the next course of action soon, and she asked Arthur to tell his dad she'll come home when the search party had been exhausted. Vulko sent out messengers to the three other kingdoms and scouts to scour every mile of sea in between. 

Arthur hoped they'd find _something_  by twilight, even better if it was Orm. 

However, their immediate attention had turned up nothing that day, and the next day, and the next. Soon, the days turned into weeks which became full months since Orm had last been seen. Arthur had even asked Bruce to help him, but that turned up with nothing as well because they didn't know where to look. Whatever evidence that had been left behind was swept away, dispersing into not enough to go on. Clark felt bad that he couldn't do much either, not able to find Orm by heartbeat because he'd never met the Atlantean before. Heartbeats were the former reporter's best form of locators oddly enough, though he kept listening into every part of the world at times to hear keywords. 

It was two months and three days before there was ant solid leads, and it was Mera who dealt with it first as the report was given to her first by the scout messenger. Arthur was in the surface world, talking out the logistics of being a team of the most powerful people on Earth, and Atlanna had returned to the lighthouse for rest and comfort with her husband. She and Vulko were the only ones of the royal council in the palace

"I'll go and see for myself," Mera said, turning to the old man. "Please stay here and wait for Arthur."

Vulko looked as if he wanted to protest, but he conceded. "Very well, Mera," he replied, "take a few guards with you. Send a message if you find him. Please be careful."

"Of course."

The redheaded princess took seven of the best soldiers they had, and together, they headed towards the country of New Zealand where it was reported that suspicious activity had been occurring. Underwater dwellers tended to avoid of the north of the Kermadec Islands as that was where the still active Monowai Seamount was located. It was only within the last few years that it had last erupted. 

Mera and the guards arrived there within the hour on their small seaship, and they spotted an opening at the nearest island that had never been there before. There were reports of drilling activities with the movement of large machine-like objects. 

They quietly slipped into the entrance and traveling a short distant lit with LEDs. At the end, they were met with the water's surface above them, and Mera signalled that she'd go first, lifting her head up halfway out of the water to see what was there. She hid in the shadows.

She saw an underground cave, equipped with new technology, some of which would be found in a submarine. Most of which were radar. It was a good thing they left the ship out of their readings. The dirt walls were covered with maps marked carefully. The world "Atlantis" was written on several of them, pointing to possible locations. 

Looking around, she spotted a large tank across the entrance, its thick glass walls high almost to the ceiling and a ladder to climb to the opened top. A filteration system quietly churned. A man was there, standing in front of it with a look out impatience with his hands held behind his back. He was tall, a older man with brown graying hair. He did not look like a native of the islands here. 

Under the water, she signalled for her men to wait, listening in. 

"Have you given in yet?" the human asked, speaking to whatever was inside the tank. "Tell me where Atlantis is and I'll let you go. Or else I can might decide to gain a little from you. There's many people, many governments, who'd pay a hefty price for an actual Atlantean."

There was no reply, which didn't impress the man at all. He huffed. 

"Come now, it's been almost two months. I'm sure you want to go home. I only wants a  _bit_ of the treasures Atlantis has. Nobody will miss a thing. Is gold really worth giving up your life to protect, Atlantean?" 

A hand slammed against the glass, making a loud noise that would've startled any, but the human remained unimpressed. Mera's green eyes widened when she saw the familiar locks of the queen's yellow hair and dark eyes burning with anger. 

Orm looked thin, as if he had been starved, and there were dark coloration under his eyes which were swollen with exhaustion. His neatly kept hair was in disarray, longer than before and floating in the water. He was given the dignity of wearing a pair of skin tight shorts, but otherwise, he was naked. Mera could see some of his ribs, his skin pale and yellowing as if bruised.

"Atlantis  _is_ my home!" the prince shouted back, pounding weakly yet frantically. "I'd rather  _die_ than let you ever see it!" 

The man sighed, disappointed, and pulled out a small black remote. Orm's eyes shot wide as the man turned the dial all the way to the right before pressing the button. 

"No,  st—"

An electric current spurn to life in the tank, and Orm screamed, clutching his middle as his entire body thrashed painfully, splashing water over the glass walls to with powerful momentum. 

"There are worse fates than death, Atlantean," the man said in a chiding manner, putting the remote back in his pocket. No longer thrashing, Orm sank to the bottom of the tank, his screaming stopped, and he didn't replied, twitching as he curled up into a fetal position. "I'll break you eventually."

By then, Mera had seen enough, and with her magic, the water raised her up, eyes glowing brightly. 

" _How dare you_ ," she finally said, gaining the man's attention. She stepped into the cave, thick tendrils of water following her obediently. 

He gaped, taking a step back as she towered over him. "You're Atlantean too," he spoke.

"Yes, and you will regret this, human." 

Without giving the man a chance to say another word, Mera lashed her hand at him, the water behind her swinging like a continent against his skull. As simple as that, almost anticlimactic, the man crumbled onto the ground, not death but certainly unable to wake up for the next several hours. Just then, the accompanying soliders jumped out of the water.

"Take everything that may be factual and digital," Mera ordered over the man's body. "Destroy everything, _especially_ the communication, transportation, and swimming devices. Decimate them all."

She would not kill the human, but she didn't want him to live either. He'll rot in his cave, the tunnel connecting to the outside entrance too far for the average human to survive. 

The soliders complied without question, leaving Mera to take care of Orm. 

Lifting a hand, she summoned the water in the tank to carry Orm out, the young man fainted. She discovered that the water was fresh water. Orm was Atlantean, and Atlanteans had long adapted to the oceans and the seas. The fresh water to ensure he didn't die from dehydration, but it was not meant to keep him in the best conditions. 

Lifting her other hand, Mera summoned the sea's water from the cave's entrance to cocoon Orm, which should help releviate some of the stress on his body. She looked over him, noting that his bruisings were remarkably hand-like and that there was a dark mark around his pale neck. She felt sick, ordering her men to take what they already have and to destroy everything  _now_. 

The men activated their plasma guns, destroying every piece of equipment and everything else in between, and they left piles of diluted matter to cool on the damp ground and against the walls. Once she was satisfied that everything was gone, even the lights, Mera ordered it was time to go, smashing one of the glass walls to mark her anger.

"What about the human, your highness?" one of the soliders asked, gesturing his gun at the man who was still unconscious. 

"Leave him," she said, pulling Orm with her. "His one mercy is that he will not be facing the king. Now we must take care of the prince."

They slipped out of the cave, the fate of the human unknown and uncared by the princess as they headed home as quickly as the seaship could go.

When they arrived back, having send a message to Atlantis the moment they left the islands, the others were waiting for him. Arthur entered the ship the moment the doorway opened enough to let him in, unable to wait patiently at the docks. 

"Where is he?" the king asked, looking for his brother. 

"He's right here, Arthur," Mera said, standing by the small medical station in the back of the ship.

Orm was placed onto the bedding, still unconscious but his skin looking noticeably better than before. The princess had been using her magic to help heal some of this wounds, though she wish that she had as much practice with healing as she did combat.

"Fuck," was all Arthur could say, inhaling like he was on the surface. He hesitated. "C— Can I carry him out?" he asked. 

Mera nodded, floating back a bit to give them space. 

The king picked his brother up, holding Orm against him with an arm around his thin waist and a hand gently holding onto locks of yellow hair. He placed Orm's head to rest on his shoulder, and Arthur pressed a kiss on top of his brother's hesd, relief on his face though his golden blue eyes showed worried. 

"He's burning up,” he said against Orm's shoulder. 

"He'd been placed under a lot of stress," Mera explained as the ship was fully docked, and they floated out, Arthur keeping Orm in his embrace. "There was a man, Arthur, he wanted to find Atlantis, but Orm wouldn't tell him. That man kept Orm prisoner in a tank of fresh water and tortured home with electric shock. Orm's bloodstream has traces of drug-induced stimuli."

"And what did you do to him?" 

"I didn't kill him, but I left him to die."

Mera believed that she'd come to regret the choice she made that day, but what had happened could not be changed and she'd have to learn to live with that. 

Arthur looked her with a sad expression, but he nodded, acknowledging what she had done but gave no praise to it. 

Atlanna was the first one to them when they came onto the dock. "My sons," she called out, rushing towards them with tired relief. "How is he?" she asked, taking her youngest by the hand and placing a long kiss on his palm.

She frowned at his high temperature, and gesturing for the waiting medical healers. Two of them carrying a capsule imbued with advanced Atlantean technology that doubled as a monitor and a medical bed later on. Arthur hesitated to give his brother up, having him returned to him just now, but his mom gave him an assured look, asking him to let his brother be helped. 

The king almost looked pained to let go, and they took his brother away to the medical wing, Atlanna going with them the entire away as they rushed off. 

Arthur then turned to hug Mera, kissing her head a dozen times as he repeated shamelessly, " _Thank you you, thank you, thank you._ " If it wasn't for her, Orm would've been missing for much longer and most definitely in even worst condition. 

"He'll be alright," Mera said, accepting the embrace as the king let out a sob. The anger she felt when she watched that human hurt Orm was for Arthur, just as much as it was for the prince and for herself. 

She and Orm had once been betrothed, and their relationship fractured when he yielded the throne. But it was Arthur's kindness and dedication that brought them all into the fold of friendship, wanting both his bother and his beloved to start something new together. Arthur refused to pick one over the other, one the love of his life and the other the brother he never got to grow up with. Taking advantage of Orm's piety and fidelity to his home and their mother, Arthur gave his brother even more reasons to stay because Atlantis wasn't just a kingdom. It was  _their_ kingdom, it was  _home_. Now, Mera could happily say that she and Orm were friends, her trust slowly regained but fully received. 

They didn't part completely by the time Vulko came to them. Arthur kept an arm around her waist, kissing her one more time. 

"Thank you, princess," the old raven said. "Atlantis owes you a debt. I am not sure what I'd do if Atlanna had received bad news instead of her son."

"It's my honor, Vulko," Mera said, "to rescue my friend and to serve Atlantis." 

Vulko smiled with a small bow. "I'll go make sure the other kingdoms received the good news," he said. "Please let me know when Orm's conditions are stable."

It took three days for Orm to wake up, groaning as the lights struck his eyes with spears, and Arthur was lucky he was there, gesturing for a healer to check up on his brother. 

"Arthur?" Orm said, his eyes a little glossed over but searching.  His voice was a little strained. "Where am I?" 

"Home, baby brother," Arthur answered, placing a hand on Orm's face. Touch, if not sight, helped Orm find him.

"Did you find me?" The blond reached over to grasped Arthur by the wrist with both hands, closing his eyes against the feel. 

"No, Mera did. She told me what happened. You did good, Orm. You could've told him."

Orm, though weak, huffed as if that was preposterous. "I was protecting Atlantis. I'd never tell a human like him."

"Our people can fend themselves, I can."

"No, Atlantis must be kept secret. That human, he would've ravaged Atlantis for gold. He would've brought others like him. Even curious adventurers might endanger our people, they'll ruin us like how they are ruining themselves. We can't trust them if they can't protect themselves."

Arthur frowned, not arguing his brother's perspective on humans because it did not come out of contempt for them but out of fear. 

"I'm glad you're alive," the king said, "don't disappear like that again. You broke your promise to Mom."

"Apologies," Orm replied quietly. He was falling back asleep, his body needing more rest. 

"There's nothing to be sorry about, it wasn't your fault. Go back to sleep, we'll be here when you wake up." 

"Okay, brother."

With that, Orm's eyes slid close one more time remained closed. The healer relayed to the king that the prince was recovering well and that he should be healed within the week.

Arthur thanked her and stayed with Orm a little longer, stroking his thumb across his brother's face to remind himself that his brother had made it back home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes, a royal family is a half human king, his mom Nicole Kidman, his mentor William Defoe, his beautiful redheaded princess girlfriend, and his half-brother Nite Owl (and his dad Jango Fett). What I took from this is that Orm is the youngest out of all of them, and that's cute, guys. (I love him, omgs.) 
> 
> If you like my work(s), please check out [my Twitter](https://twitter.com/kappachyun?s=09).


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